I need some help tracing a apparent "dead battery" no start problem. On 1/6/21, I replaced a 4 year old, off brand, dead battery in my 2000 LX470. There was a Batteries Plus nearby and I purchased a X2 Power AGM "bad ass" battery. So stoked! 930 cold cranking amps!!! On 1/31/21 I left Sacramento and headed to to Tahoe for a ski day...sunny conditions, but very cold around 29 F when I arrived at the lodge around 9am. Up to this point, no issues with the new battery. End of the ski day and the LX won't start. Dash lights on, but just a click of the starter and nothing. I got a jump and we were off and running back to Sacramento. The LX sat for 2 days and then the same thing, dash board lights are good, headlights are shining bright inside the garage and "click" no start. I jumped it and drove 15 minutes to Batteries Plus. They ran a load test and a few others. With the engine running, had 14 volts at the terminal and no issues on any of the tests. When the weekend came, I cleaned the terminals and placed a small amount of dielectric grease. Not that it needed it, but I was at a loss of what to do. Sunday, 2/22/21 headed to Tahoe for another ski trip. Very cold again. At noon, I started the LX and moved it to a closer parking spot. No problems. But at 4:30 when we were ready to head home, "Click" no start. Needed to jump. Even though there had been no indication of problems since 1/31/21, I decided to bring the a spare battery and jumper cables. Same routine, drove home no issues. Stopped for 2 hours for dinner, no issues. Next day, "click" no start. Dashboard lights on. Grabbed my multi-meter and read 12.8 volts at the battery terminals. Jump started and read 14.2 volts. No problems the rest of the day and today. Tomorrow I have an appointment at Batteries Plus. They want to test the battery, alternator and another load test. I'm going to push for them to replace the battery, even if it checks out.
I'm looking for some direction on where to troubleshoot this issue if the battery checks out again. I'm thinking maybe the starter??? This is my 2nd LX470...and I just got her in July. I'm the second owner and she only had 123K miles when I purchased her. I still have my 1999 LX and she has over 265K miles. I remember her starter went out around 125K miles...but not like this...the starter would spin, but not engage.
I'm looking for some direction on where to troubleshoot this issue if the battery checks out again. I'm thinking maybe the starter??? This is my 2nd LX470...and I just got her in July. I'm the second owner and she only had 123K miles when I purchased her. I still have my 1999 LX and she has over 265K miles. I remember her starter went out around 125K miles...but not like this...the starter would spin, but not engage.